BOSTON – A Hyannis man was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Boston for conspiring to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Benjamin Roderick, 21, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris to 14 months in prison and two years of supervised release.
In September 2016, Roderick pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Roderick was one of 19 members and associates of the Hyannis-based Nauti Block gang named in an October 2016 superseding indictment with various drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms offenses.
On March 7, 2016, during an investigation into the gang’s operations, federal investigators intercepted telephone calls and text messages in which Roderick was planning to supply co-defendant Christopher Wilkins with a .38 caliber firearm in exchange for approximately 10 grams of heroin.
Law enforcement officers followed Roderick and stopped his vehicle as he went to meet Wilkins to conduct the trade. The officers arrested Roderick and seized the firearm loaded with five rounds of ammunition.
In May 2017, Wilkins pleaded guilty to 15 counts of drug, money laundering, and firearm offenses and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 18, 2017.
